Patrick Dewane Presents

THE ACCIDENTAL HERO

December 14, 2018

Written and performed by Patrick Dewane

This remarkable true WWII story has Colonel Matt Konop liberating the Czech villages of grandparents. Konop grew up speaking Czech on a farm in Wisconsin and didn’t learn English until he was six and then spent the rest of his life trying to become a “real American.” He saw little value in his meager background and odd accent. Then at the end of WWII his fluency in Czech made him more valuable than any other soldier in his division as they liberated Czechoslovakia in the last week of the war. In a series of jaw-dropping coincidences, Konop ends up liberating ancestral villages by himself, and the Czechs hail him as a hero. Like Luke Skywalker, Konop’s fight against the Evil Empire turns to be an epiphany about his own identity. But when he returns from the war he, like so many other GIs, rarely talked about the war. Twenty years after his death, his story was discovered by his grandson, Patrick Dewane, who tells the epic tale with rare film footage, vintage photos, music, and much love. The show has been featured at the Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC and tours to the Czech Republic each May.

”Remarkable! An amazing story that is impossible to forget,” – Daniel Freeman, Smithsonian Institute

Construction Please be aware that ongoing construction on 35W and surrounding streets and bridges will affect your route to Open Eye. Please allow extra time getting to the theatre. We recommend using map apps to navigate to the theatre, following posted detour signs, and consulting MNDOT for current projects at dot.state.mn.us/35w94.

Open Eye Figure Theatre creates original image driven theater animating the inanimate on an intimate scale, and builds community by advancing adventurous, artist-driven programming.